The 1980 Monaco Grand Prix was a

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

motor race Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms ''automobile ...

held at

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

on 18 May 1980. It was the sixth round of the

1980 Formula One season The 1980 Formula One season was the 34th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1980 '' World Championship of Drivers'' and the 1980 '' International Cup for F1 Constructors'', which were contested concurrently from 13 Janua ...

. The race was the 38th

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix () is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the wo ...

. The race was held over 76 laps of the 3.34-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 254 kilometres. It was won by

Carlos Reutemann Carlos Alberto "Lole" Reutemann (12 April 1942 – 7 July 2021) was an Argentine racing driver and politician, who competed in Formula One from to and served as the Governor of Santa Fe from 1999 to 2003. Reutemann was runner-up in the Form ...

driving a Williams FW07B after polesitter

Didier Pironi Didier Joseph Louis Pironi (26 March 1952 – 23 August 1987) was a French racing driver and offshore powerboat racing, offshore powerboat racer, who competed in Formula One from to . Pironi was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Cham ...

crashed at the Casino corner on lap 55. The win was the Argentine Reutemann's tenth Formula One victory and his first since the

1978 United States Grand Prix The 1978 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 1, 1978, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. This event was also referred to as the United States Grand Prix East in order to distin ...

. He also became the fifth winner in six races of the 1980 season. Reutemann won by 1 minute and 13 seconds over French driver

Jacques Laffite Jacques-Henri Laffite (; born 21 November 1943) is a French former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Laffite won six Formula One Grands Prix across 13 seasons. Born and raised in Paris, Laffite trained as ...

driving Ligier JS11/15. Third was Brazilian driver

Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to . Piquet won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , , and , and won 23 ...

driving a

Brabham BT49 The Brabham BT49 is a Formula One racing car designed by South African Gordon Murray for the British Brabham team. The BT49 competed in the to Formula One World Championships and was used by Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet to win his first Wo ...

. Piquet's third place moved him past

René Arnoux René Alexandre Arnoux (; born 4 July 1948) is a French former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Arnoux won seven Formula One Grands Prix across 12 seasons. In 1977, Arnoux won the European Formula Two Championship. His be ...

and Alan Jones into the lead of the world championship for the first time. The race however is remembered for a memorable and spectacular crash at the start of the race when

Derek Daly Derek Patrick Daly (born 11 March 1953) is an Irish former racing driver, businessman and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Dublin, Daly won the British Formula Three Championship in 1977, before partici ...

collided with

Bruno Giacomelli Bruno Giacomelli (; born 10 September 1952) is an Italian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One between and . Giacomelli won one of the two 1976 British Formula 3 Championships and the Formula Two championship. From to , Giacome ...

Alfa Romeo 179 The Alfa Romeo 179 is a Formula One car which was used (in different variants) by the Alfa Romeo (Formula One), Alfa Romeo team from to . The 179 made its debut at the 1979 Italian Grand Prix, replacing the flat-12 engined Alfa Romeo 177. During i ...

, which sent Daly's Tyrrell 010 flying over Giacomelli and landing between teammate

Jean-Pierre Jarier Jean-Pierre Jacques Jarier (; born 10 July 1946) is a French former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Jarier contested 143 Formula One Grands Prix for March, Shadow, ATS, Ligier, Lotus, Tyrrell, and Osella. He achieve ...

and

Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Professor", Prost won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and� ...

McLaren M29 The McLaren M29 is a Formula One racing car built and run by McLaren during the 1979 Formula One World Championship and the 1980 Formula One World Championship. The F version of the McLaren M29 was built in 1979, but only ran during five race ...

. All four drivers were out on the spot, but none suffered any serious injury.

Jan Lammers Johannes Antonius "Jan" Lammers (born 2 June 1956) is a Dutch racecar driver, most notable for winning the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans FIA World Endurance Championship, world endurance race, for Silk Cut Jaguar Cars, Jaguar/Tom Walkinshaw Racing, TW ...

also collected damage in his ATS D4 but was able to continue. The accident was particularly disappointing for McLaren after John Watson failed to qualify for Monaco's shortened 20 car grid. Fourth was West German driver

Jochen Mass Jochen Richard Mass (; 30 September 1946 – 4 May 2025) was a German racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Mass won the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix with McLaren. In endurance racing, Mass won the 24 Hours of Le Ma ...

driving an Arrows A3 one lap down on Reutemann ahead of Canadian

Gilles Villeneuve Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve (; 18 January 1950 – 8 May 1982) was a Canadian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Villeneuve was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and won six Grands ...

in a Ferrari 312T5. A further lap down in sixth was dual-World Champion

Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi (; born 12 December 1946) is a Brazilian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Fittipaldi won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with Team ...

in a Fittipaldi F7. For Mass and Fittipaldi it would be last world championship points they would collect. Reutemann's win put Williams in the lead of the constructor's points race by five points over Ligier.

Qualifying classification

Race classification

Notes

* This was the 100th Grand Prix start for an

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

-powered car. In those 100 races, an Alfa Romeo-powered car had won 12 Grands Prix, achieved 35 podium finishes, 13 pole positions, 17 fastest laps, 9 Grand Slams and had won 2 Driver's Championships.

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings *Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

{{F1GP 80-89

Monaco Grand Prix

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...